This invention relates generally to the field of currency conversion. More specifically, the invention relates to the conversion of coinage to other types of currency.
Most currencies include both coins and paper money. For example, the currency of the United States includes pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollar coins in addition to paper money. Due to inflation over time, the value of such coinage has become relatively small. Hence, for many it is inconvenient to carry coins. As such, many simply let their coins accumulate, often scattered about the home or office. When a large number of coins have accumulated, it is inconvenient and time consuming to organize the coins and take them to a bank for conversion to paper money.
Because of these inconveniences, some have proposed coin machines that process coins and determine their value. For example, one such coin machine is commercially available from Coinstar. After processing the coins, such machines may issue a receipt that is redeemable at the store where the machine is located, either for cash or in store credit. Hence, such receipts are typically only good within the store where the machine is located.
This invention is related to other ways to convert coins to various types of value. The invention thus provides various alternatives for receiving payments from coins.